Executive summary
Reasons for publication
Article 10b(4) of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID ) requires Member States to make publicly available the information necessary to carry out the assessment of a proposed acquirer of an investment firm. This information must be provided at the time of the initial notification. This information is aimed at ensuring that competent authorities are provided with adequate and proportionate information in order to assess the acquisition. Article 10a of MiFID, as amended by Article 6(4) of the Omnibus Directive , requires ESMA to draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) to establish an exhaustive list of information referred to in Article 10b(4) of MiFID.
ESMA is required to submit the draft RTS to the European Commission (Commission) by 1 January 2014.
Contents
The proposed RTS set out in this Consultation Paper (CP) are based on the CEBS, CESR and CEIOPS ‘Guidelines for the prudential assessment of acquisitions and increases in holdings in the financial sector required by Directive 2007/44/EC’ (3L3 Guidelines), as well as the report issued by the Commission (in February 2013) to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of Regions on the application of Directive on acquisitions and increase of holdings in the financial sector.
Section II explains the background to the proposals; Section III describes the proposals on the exhaustive list of information to be included by proposed acquirers in their notification.
Annex I sets out the legislative mandate to develop draft RTS; Annex II sets out the cost-benefit analysis related to the draft RTS; Annex III lists the questions contained in this CP; and Annex IV sets out the full text of the draft RTS.
Next steps
ESMA will consider the responses it receives to this CP in Q4, and will finalise the draft RTS for submission to the Commission by 1 January 2014 for endorsement.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a Discussion Paper setting out its initial views on the implementing measures it will have to develop for the new Market Abuse Regulation (MAR).
MAR aims to enhance market integrity and investor protection. It will achieve this by updating and strengthening the existing market abuse framework, by extending its scope to new markets and trading strategies, and by introducing new requirements.
The Discussion Paper presents positions and regulatory options on those issues where ESMA will have to develop MAR implementing measures, likely to include Regulatory Technical Standards, Delegated Acts and Guidelines. These implementing measures are of fundamental importance to the new regime, as they set out how MAR’s enlarged scope is to be implemented in practice by market participants, trading platforms, investors, issuers and persons related to financial markets.
In developing these regulatory options ESMA, where similar requirements already exist under the current Market Abuse Directive (MAD), has taken into consideration the existing MAD Level 2 texts and ESMA/CESR guidelines to set out the DP positions in light of the extended scope of MAR.
This Discussion Paper is based on the version of the MAR Level 1 text agreed by the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission on 24 June 2013.
Consultation
Reference 2013/1649
Closing date for responses
Monday, 27 January 2014
Contact
market.integrity[at]esma.europa.eu

This publication is the first step in the process of translating the MiFID II/MiFIR requirements into practically applicable rules and regulations to address the effects of the financial crisis and to improve financial market transparency and strengthen investor protection.MiFID II/MiFIR introduces changes that will have a large impact on the EU’s financial markets, these include transparency requirements for a broader range of asset classes; the obligation to trade derivatives on-exchange; requirements on algorithmic and high-frequency-trading and new supervisory tools for commodity derivatives. It will also strengthen protection for retail investors through limits on the use of commissions; conditions for the provision of independent investment advice; stricter organisational requirements for product design and distribution; product intervention powers; and the disclosure of costs and charges.Responding to this paperThe European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) invites responses to the specific questions listed in the ESMA MiFID II/MiFIR Discussion Paper.Please use this “form to reply”.The level 1 texts adopted by the European Council during its 13 May 2014 meeting are available here: MiFID II and MiFIR. These links are from the Council Press Release.

This publication is the first step in the process of translating the MiFID II/MiFIR requirements into practically applicable rules and regulations to address the effects of the financial crisis and to improve financial market transparency and strengthen investor protection.MiFID II/MiFIR introduces changes that will have a large impact on the EU’s financial markets, these include transparency requirements for a broader range of asset classes; the obligation to trade derivatives on-exchange; requirements on algorithmic and high-frequency-trading and new supervisory tools for commodity derivatives. It will also strengthen protection for retail investors through limits on the use of commissions; conditions for the provision of independent investment advice; stricter organisational requirements for product design and distribution; product intervention powers; and the disclosure of costs and charges.Responding to this paperThe European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) invites responses to the specific questions listed in the ESMA MiFID II/MiFIR Consultation Paper.Please use this “form to reply”.The level 1 texts adopted by the European Council during its 13 May 2014 meeting are available here: MiFID II and MiFIR. These links are coming from the Council Press Release.

ESMA invites comments on all matters in this paper and in particular on the specific questions summarised in Annex 1.Comments are most helpful if they:
respond to the question stated;
indicate the specific question to which the comment relates;
contain a clear rationale; and
describe any alternatives ESMA should consider.
ESMA will consider all comments received by Wednesday 15 October 2014.All contributions should be submitted online at www.esma.europa.eu under the heading ‘Your input - Consultations’.Publication of responsesAll contributions received will be published following the close of the consultation, unless you request otherwise. Please clearly and prominently indicate in your submission any part you do not wish to be publically disclosed. A standard confidentiality statement in an email message will not be treated as a request for non-disclosure. A confidential response may be requested from us in accordance with ESMA’s rules on access to documents. We may consult you if we receive such a request. Any decision we make not to disclose the response is reviewable by ESMA’s Board of Appeal and the European Ombudsman.Data protectionInformation on data protection can be found at www.esma.europa.eu under the heading ‘Legal Notice’.Who should read this paper?This paper may be specifically of interest to any investor that deals in financial instruments and emission allowances subject to the Market Abuse Regulation, issuers of instruments in the scope of the Regulation, financial intermediaries, operators of trading venues and participants in the emission allowance market.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) invites comments on all matters set out in this consultation paper and, in particular, on the specific questions listed in Annex I. Comments are most helpful if they:
indicate the number of the question to which the comment relates;
respond to the question stated;
contain a clear rationale, including on any related costs and benefits; and
describe any alternatives ESMA should consider.
Comments should reach us by Wednesday 15 October 2014.
All contributions should be submitted online at www.esma.europa.eu under the heading ‘Your input/Consultations’.Publication of responses All contributions received will be published following the end of the consultation period, unless otherwise requested. Please clearly and prominently indicate in your submission any part you do not wish to be publically disclosed. A standard confidentiality statement in an email message will not be treated as a request for non-disclosure. Note also that a confidential response may be requested from us in accordance with ESMA’s rules on access to documents. We may consult you if we receive such a request. Any decision we make is reviewable by ESMA’s Board of Appeal and the European Ombudsman.Data protection Information on data protection can be found at www.esma.europa.eu under the heading ‘Disclaimer’.Who should read this paper?This paper may be specifically of interest to any investor that deals in financial instruments and emission allowances subject to the Market Abuse Regulation, issuers of instruments in the scope of the Regulation, financial intermediaries, operators of trading venues and participants in the emission allowance market.

Responding to this paper
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)
invites comments on all matters set out in this consultation paper and, in
particular, on the specific questions listed in Annex 1. Comments are most
helpful if they:
·
indicate the number of the question to which the
comment relates;
·
respond to the question stated;
·
contain a clear rationale, including on any
related costs and benefits; and
·
describe any alternatives ESMA should consider.
Comments should reach us by November 1st 2014.
All contributions should be submitted online at www.esma.europa.eu under the heading ‘Your
input/Consultations’.
Publication of responses
All contributions received will be published following the
end of the consultation period, unless otherwise requested. Please clearly and
prominently indicate in your submission any part you do not wish to be
publically disclosed. A standard confidentiality statement in an email message
will not be treated as a request for non-disclosure. Note also that a
confidential response may be requested from us in accordance with ESMA’s rules
on access to documents. We may consult you if we receive such a request. Any
decision we make is reviewable by ESMA’s Board of Appeal and the European
Ombudsman.
Data protection
Information on data protection can be found at www.esma.europa.eu by following the link ‘Data protection’.
Who should
read this paper?
All interested stakeholders are invited to respond to this
consultation paper. It will primarily be of interest to credit institutions and
investment firms who need to calculate their credit risk exposure under the
Capital Requirements Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of 26 June 2013.

Who should read this paper?
This document will be of interest to all stakeholders involved in the securities markets. It is primarily of interest to competent authorities and firms that are subject to MiFID II and MiFIR – in particular, investment firms, credit institutions performing investment services and activities, data reporting services providers and trading venues. This paper is also important for trade associations and industry bodies, institutional and retail investors and their advisers, and consumer groups, as well as any market participant because the MiFID II and MiFIR requirements seek to implement enhanced provisions to ensure investor protection and the transparency and orderly running of financial markets with potential impacts for anyone engaged in the dealing with or processing of financial instruments.
Responding to this paper
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) invites responses to the specific questions listed in the ESMA MiFID II/MiFIR Consultation Paper.
Please note that ESMA will only be able to consider responses received using this “form to reply” and complying with the procedure below.
a) InstructionsPlease note that, in order to facilitate analysis of the large number of responses expected, ESMA will be using an IT tool that does not allow processing of responses which do not follow the formatting indications described below. Therefore, in responding stakeholders should:i. use the published template and send their responses in Word format (pdf documents will not be considered except for annexes); ii. not remove the tags of type - i.e. the response to one question has to be framed by the 2 tags corresponding to the question; andiii. if they have no response to a question, not delete it and leave the text “TYPE YOUR TEXT HERE” between the tags.
b) Naming protocolIn order to facilitate the handling of stakeholders responses please save your document using the following format:ESMA_MiFID2_CP_NAMEOFCOMPANY_NAMEOFDOCUMENT: e.g. if the respondent were ESMA, the name of the reply form would be ESMA_MiFID2_CP_ESMA_REPLYFORM or ESMA_MiFID2_CP_ESMA_ANNEX1
c) Content of the responses
Responses are most helpful:i. if they respond to the question stated;ii. contain a clear rationale; andiii. describe any alternatives that ESMA should consider.
Given the breadth of issues covered, ESMA expects and encourages respondents to specifically answer those questions relevant to their business, interest and experience.
d) Deadline
Responses must reach us by 2 March 2015.
All contributions should be submitted online at www.esma.europa.eu under the heading ‘Your input/Consultations’.
Publication of responses
All contributions received will be published following the end of the consultation period, unless otherwise requested. Please clearly indicate by ticking the appropriate checkbox in the website submission form if you do not wish your contribution to be publicly disclosed. A standard confidentiality statement in an email message will not be treated as a request for non-disclosure. Note also that a confidential response may be requested from ESMA in accordance with ESMA’s rules on access to documents. ESMA may consult respondents if ESMA receives such a request. Any decision we make is reviewable by ESMA’s Board of Appeal and the European Ombudsman.
Data protection
Information on data protection can be found at www.esma.europa.eu under the headings ‘Legal notice’ and ‘Data protection’.

Who should read this paper?
This document will be of interest to all stakeholders involved in the securities markets. It is primarily of interest to competent authorities and firms that are subject to MiFID II and MiFIR – in particular, investment firms, credit institutions performing investment services and activities, data reporting services providers and trading venues. This paper is also important for trade associations and industry bodies, institutional and retail investors and their advisers, and consumer groups, as well as any market participant because the MiFID II and MiFIR requirements seek to implement enhanced provisions to ensure investor protection and the transparency and orderly running of financial markets with potential impacts for anyone engaged in the dealing with or processing of financial instruments.
Responding to this paper
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) invites responses to the specific questions listed in the ESMA MiFID II/MiFIR Consultation Paper.
Please note that ESMA will only be able to consider responses received using this “form to reply” and complying with the procedure below.
a) InstructionsPlease note that, in order to facilitate analysis of the large number of responses expected, ESMA will be using an IT tool that does not allow processing of responses which do not follow the formatting indications described below. Therefore, in responding stakeholders should:i. use the published template and send their responses in Word format (pdf documents will not be considered except for annexes); ii. not remove the tags of type - i.e. the response to one question has to be framed by the 2 tags corresponding to the question; andiii. if they have no response to a question, not delete it and leave the text “TYPE YOUR TEXT HERE” between the tags.
b) Naming protocolIn order to facilitate the handling of stakeholders responses please save your document using the following format:ESMA_MiFID2_CP_NAMEOFCOMPANY_NAMEOFDOCUMENT: e.g. if the respondent were ESMA, the name of the reply form would be ESMA_MiFID2_CP_ESMA_REPLYFORM or ESMA_MiFID2_CP_ESMA_ANNEX1
c) Content of the responses
Responses are most helpful:i. if they respond to the question stated;ii. contain a clear rationale; andiii. describe any alternatives that ESMA should consider.
Given the breadth of issues covered, ESMA expects and encourages respondents to specifically answer those questions relevant to their business, interest and experience.
d) Deadline
Responses must reach us by 2 March 2015.
All contributions should be submitted online at www.esma.europa.eu under the heading ‘Your input/Consultations’.
Publication of responses
All contributions received will be published following the end of the consultation period, unless otherwise requested. Please clearly indicate by ticking the appropriate checkbox in the website submission form if you do not wish your contribution to be publicly disclosed. A standard confidentiality statement in an email message will not be treated as a request for non-disclosure. Note also that a confidential response may be requested from ESMA in accordance with ESMA’s rules on access to documents. ESMA may consult respondents if ESMA receives such a request. Any decision we make is reviewable by ESMA’s Board of Appeal and the European Ombudsman.
Data protection
Information on data protection can be found at www.esma.europa.eu under the headings ‘Legal notice’ and ‘Data protection’.